Safeguarding Bulletin - 16 September 2026

Major changes with launch of Information Sharing statutory guidance

The Government have issued Statutory Guidance coming into force in England on 30th September that radically changes the way we approach information sharing, placing children’s well-being and safety as the primary concern in any information sharing conversation.

The Guidance removes many of the perceived barriers to information sharing and has enormous implications for how we work together. The duty is a substantial move away from making judgements about child protection thresholds to a general duty (not judgement) to share information about a child and about others connected to a child to support the statutory duties of other agencies.

• Download the Guidance

Early Years and KCSiE 2026

KCSiE 2026 is an affirmation of good early years safeguarding.

KCSiE is statutory guidance for schools and colleges. Most private, voluntary and independent (PVI) early years settings are not legally required to follow KCSiE in the same way that schools are.

Children don't experience safeguarding any differently because they're in a nursery instead of a school. Abuse doesn't wait until Reception class. Neither should effective safeguarding. The statutory documents may differ, but the principles remain the same. Whether you're working from the EYFS, Working Together or KCSiE, the child is still at the centre of everything you do.

Many PVIs and childminder settings hear ‘KCSiE’ and think, ‘That's only for schools’ and technically, they're right. However, practically, they miss some excellent safeguarding guidance by ignoring it. What has changed in KCSiE 2026 and what does that mean in practice? Sharon Birch explores the key implications for private, voluntary and independent (PVI) Early Years settings.

• Read the blog

Healthy relationships: a toolkit for secondary schools

Friendships can become more complex during early adolescence, particularly as online communication and peer dynamics play a bigger role.

Anna Freud have just published resources that explore healthy friendships, conflict, boundaries and peer pressure, giving students aged 11–13 opportunities to reflect on their relationships and build skills to navigate them with confidence.

• Find out more and download the toolkit

Enduring relationships for care-experienced children

The Department for Education has published a strategy to help care-experienced children in England build and maintain lifelong supportive relationships.

Aimed at local authorities and professionals who work with care-experienced children, it highlights the importance of enduring relationships and calls on practitioners and leaders to ensure every child leaves care with a strong support network.

• Find out more

Teacher wellbeing toolkit: start the school year well

Education Support have published a free Start the year well toolkit, bringing together practical resources to help education staff protect their mental health and wellbeing as they settle into the new academic year.

From setting boundaries and managing workload to building healthy habits, the toolkit offers practical support that staff can return to throughout the academic year and beyond.

• Read more and download the toolkit

Allergy safety in schools and education settings

Allergy safety is an important responsibility for schools and other education settings. New statutory guidance for schools in England, published in July 2026, sets out expectations for supporting pupils with allergies, including allergy safety policies, staff training, Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs), emergency responses and learning from serious incidents and near misses.

Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of those in your care includes being prepared for the unexpected. Serious allergic reactions can affect anyone, including individuals with no previous history of allergies. By understanding how to recognise the signs and symptoms of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, staff in educational and childcare settings can react confidently, in a timely manner, and potentially save a life.

Written by our partners Anaphylaxis UK, our new resource page details how you can prepare your settings allergy safety approach.

• Read more

Safeguarding Network is partnering with Virtual College to offer a new e-learning module: Benedict's Law Training: Allergy Awareness in Schools. Members are entitled to 50% off the price.

• Find out more and take the training